Pages

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Ravioli with Smoked Salmon and Vodka Cream Sauce - Pink Saturday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I met for a last lunch with Mrs. S. before Bob and I made the big move from Chicago to the East Coast. It was a small gesture to thank her for all she had done for me through the years. We met in an Italian restaurant and spent a loud and lovely afternoon laughing and retracing the path through the field of memories we shared. Within the year her great heart would seize and surrender, a passing that was quick and painless for her but left those who loved her reeling. On that day, however, we spoke of things silly and serious. Among the silly, were her thoughts on my choice of pasta. She insisted it was not Italian. Turns out she was right. I was having a prototype of what would become penne with vodka sauce and part of the nuova cucina that raged across the United States in the 1980's. Vodka is not native to Italy and it wasn't distributed there until the latter portion of the 1970's. It's thought that vodka sauce for pasta was probably developed to attract people to the beverage. We know that vodka sauce was invented at Dante, a restaurant in Bologna, Italy, but Joanna's Restaurant, in New York City, is credited with beginning the fad for vodka sauce in the United States.

Several years ago, I developed a recipe for a competition that used a vodka cream sauce. A few of you may have seen it on the Better Recipes website. It won no prizes, but it is one of the best recipes I've developed. I'm proud of it on several levels. While expensive to make, it is very easy to do and, with all due modesty, I'll tell you it's absolutely delicious and perfect for family or guests. Mrs. S. would be proud to see that all those hours she spent with me weren't wasted. Here's the recipe.

Directions:1) Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet, large enough to hold ravioli and sauce. Add red pepper flakes and saute for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Remove pan from heat and carefully add vodka. When pan has stopped sizzling return it to a burner set on medium-high heat and cook until vodka has nearly evaporated. Add cream and bring to a boil over high heat. Add salmon, reduce heat to very low and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the salmon to steep and infuse the cream. Salt and pepper to taste.2) Meanwhile, bring a 6-quart pot of water to a boil. Salt water, add ravioli and cook, per package instructions, until just until tender. Drain. Add ravioli to salmon-cream mixture and toss gently to coat. Evenly divide ravioli among 4 shallow pasta bowls; spoon any additional sauce evenly over pasta. Garnish with minced parsley and serve. Yield: 4 servings.

This post is being linked to:Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

62 comments
:

:-) lovely story, I remember the vodka penne of the 80's, I was a bit too young to appreciate them maybe...but it was one of the first signs of Fusion cuisine. I don't know what we can define exactly Italian or not in these cases, maybe a recipe done first in America is American, but if it has pasta and pasta is not traditionally American can you still say that it is American just because it was invented there? And what about if the chef is, let's say, French? Does it transform it into a French dish? Or would you look at the pasta/vodka ratio to see which percentage could be Italian and which Russian (if you are not using a Finn vodka, that is ;-0)

It is great because one can talk for hours about all these possibilities!!!!

Mary, I think, secretly, I have been looking for this recipe for a long time. We have tried several vodka sauces and some were ok and then there was the one that was so-so. I know if you say this is good, IT IS GOOD!! Loved your story, once again.

Hi Mary - this recipe looks fabulous!! You must be so proud!!I will most certainly save and make this recipe. My older boys will love it! They actually both like to cook and we enjoyed making a few meal together over Christmas when they were home from college (including penne alla vodka).Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

o, Sweet Mary...visiting you always leaves my mouth watering for the beautiful foods you prepare. Tell me, dear heart, do you EVER have just hot dogs or cereal or bacon and eggs? Your meals are so beautiful and so delicious sounding. I wonder how I've gone this long in life without the BEAUTIFUL foods. Mine are all so common..uninteresting..I just haven't taken the time to learn to cook like this...my loss !!Thanks for this magnificent recipe...

I remember many years ago having a pasta machine. I bought it from the Speigel magazine, was already to start making pasta from scratch, but it never really happened. I found it to be way too much work for someone that had no idea what they were doing. It had a ravioli attachment as well. I got rid of the machine years ago and now wish I still had it. Your recipes always looks so perfect and make my mouth water each week, Happy Pink Saturday, Char

Vodka sauce is one of my favorites and I can only imagine how delicious it is paired with ravioli and smoked salmon (two of my other favorites). I loved the story you told to accompany this. Mrs. S sounds like a great person.

Groan....I went on a diet Jan. 1 ( along with all the other New year's resolutions) and have to stick to it for at least three months. But, I did print this off and hope to make it. I have just discovered that I love salmon. I don't think I can sub the whipping cream for no fat/low fat stuff can I? Happy New Year and Pink Saturday! xo

Thanx so muc Dear Mary-u have a very wonderfull blog here too and cant afford to miss any of ur elciious posts so yeah am following ...Love ur info on the raddish...We too do slice it finely,long and soak it in water for a few hours and crunch on 'em with a sald or lunch but so love ur idea of the buttered pumpernickel...will try it soon...

Hi Mary; So nice to meet you,, thank you for stopping by and the sweet comment.... Your recipe sound so yummy,, I love that sauce, but never made it too chicken I guess,,, but yours looks pretty easy even for me...lol thank you for sharing it... Happy Pink Weekend...

Ohhhh ooooooo ahhhhh. So heavenly looking, sounding, and tasting I have no doubt. Are you sure you don't have a crew there helping you? I swear you are super woman Mary. I just have no idea how you crank this all out and still live your life!

YOU are amazing! I love your recipes and your photos and your sweet stories! However, I am not a smoked salmon fan, but I would totally gobble up every other ingredient in that yummy dish...then toast you with a sip of vodka left i the bottle! :)

Hello Mary, I had to stop over and see what you are up to. Busy, busy I see. I am going to use your vodka cream sauce recipe tomorrow for a luncheon for friends. I will be stuffing mannicoti with roccota ( I see I must have too many n's or c's but that is neither here or there) and using your sauce and shrimp to top it all off. I'll try to remember to take pictures but you know how that goes when the food is on the table. Thank you my friend.~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

I'm a day late and a dollar short with my Pink Saturday visits. The sun was shining too bright yesterday and just like a little kid I couldn't stop marveling at how lovely it was as it beamed through my lace curtains and puddled on the floor. My cats were in heaven.

So, here I am today, a little late but thinking that I got a bonus because I avoided all the traffic!

Lovely blog and the sweetest pinks that you shared. Thank you so much for making this such a lovely Sunday for me.

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information with third-parties nor does it store information about your visit for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser's settings. Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a a users prior visits to this website. Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads. This blog is not responsible for the republishing of the content found here on other Web sites or media without the owners permission. This privacy policy is subject to change without notice